Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Domestic violence does not just happen as physical violence behind closed doors. It also happens on mobile phones, family laptops and iPads. It can be image-based, financial, verbal or in a closed WhatsApp group. As our means of communication change and as our lives change with technology, we have to assume that this behaviour carries into the new wave of living too and we need to regulate these spaces.

There are no stereotypes in domestic violence. It can happen in any home, on any platform, in any town, in a number of different ways. As we all become tech natives, we need to know that perpetrators will be held accountable for actions online as well. We in the Labour Party recognised this issue three years ago when Deputy Howlin produced a Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017. This Bill has been trudging along for three whole years. It breaks my heart to think of the harm that has been caused in the past three years to the young people who are bullied online, to the point of taking their own lives. My colleague, Senator Bacik, referenced Coco's Law. For those who do not know, the Bill was named after Nicole Coco Fox Fenton, a teenager who died by suicide after she was continuously abused online. None of the perpetrators has ever been held to account. Deputy Howlin's Bill will provide recourse under the auspices of the law for the perpetrators of such cruel and torturous behaviour online.

Another element of Deputy Howlin's Bill would be to make it a criminal offence to distribute intimate images without consent. Image-based sexual abuse or violence is a repugnant vile act. It is a heinous act that is designed to shame and gain control over a person who has had their intimate images shared without their consent. We are all aware of the news in the past week that a large cache of illicit images was leaked online. While the full details of the case remain to be revealed, it is very clear that the issue of image-based sexual violence is a real one in this country and one that must be tackled immediately.Image-based sexual violence is a real issue in Ireland, and must be tackled immediately. Image-based sexual violence has been an offence in the UK since 2015. In the first year alone, 206 people were prosecuted under the new law there. Too often, women are the targets of online abuse. I want to take a moment to have it noted on the record that the response online to me speaking out against image-based sexual violence was nothing short of shocking. As I said at the time, I will not be silenced. Those who seek to intimidate those of us in public life who speak out against these sorts of violent crimes will not silence us.

I am someone who has experienced sexual violence. I am not alone, and I am possibly not the only person in this room who has experienced sexual violence of some form. There are people who are watching this debate who have experienced sexual violence. I want to put it on the record: I believe you, I see you, I hear you, and it was not your fault.

I warmly welcome the fact that there has been so much recognition from across the political landscape of the various serious and corrosive impacts that sexual violence can have on a person. While we need societal change in respect of sexual and domestic violence, I hope that as legislators, we undertake our duties to ensure there is robust legislation in place to deal with these vile acts. Too many vulnerable people, both young and old, are affected by harmful online bullying and harassment. That private, intimate images of young people can be shared online is totally unacceptable. Harassment, stalking and aggravated online bullying are not acceptable; they have never been acceptable. I look forward to the day in the coming weeks when they will be criminal offences, and the perpetrators of these egregious offences will be held to account under the full force of the law. I look forward to working with the Minister and colleagues across the political spectrum to put an end finally to something that has been a very difficult process for a number of people watching.